DECEMBER 27, 2019 NEWSWEEK.COM 29
these democratic mores, on which I am
focused and not on the future system
of government. Our country has, apart
from this 40-year interlude, a history
of monarchic service and tradition. So
naturally many Iranians, in line with this
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is not about monarchy or republic, it
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from an anti-Iranian occupying force
and to develop this democratic order.
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“maximum pressure” strategy on Iran?
$It is unfortunate for the Iranian people
that the regime, through its nefarious,
destabilizing and antagonizing behavior
in the region and across the world, has
brought the ire of so many of its neigh-
bors and of the free world on our country.
To the extent that the sanctions limit or
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used for such actions, this is something
the people of Iran understand and appre-
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and foremost under maximum pressure
socially, politically and economically from
the Islamic regime itself. Therefore, my
concern and that of the Iranian people
is getting rid of this regime. The people
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tions, they chant against this regime in
hundreds of cities across the country.
4Was President Donald Trump right
to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal?
$I do not tell Americans how to run
their country, my focus is Iran. I know
that any deal or negotiation with this
regime and which ignores the Iranian
people and their desires and demands
are illegitimate. All those who still aspire
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this regime only prove how out of touch
they are with the real aspirations and
sentiments of the Iranian people.
4Trump’s hardline approach is
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dards of normal Iranians—is this
a price worth paying to try and
contain the Iranian regime?
$Containment and appeasement have
proven to be the policy of sustaining the
status quo. It is the policy of continuously
taking the same steps and expecting
different results. To the extent that the re-
gime is cut off from the resources used to
oppress at home and abroad, the Iranian
people understand and appreciate that.
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will be the Iranian people, not foreign
policies. If any nation wants to deal with
Iran, it must deal with those who hold the
answers to its future: the people, not the
regime. I have said for decades that the
West has a role to play in supporting the
Iranian people because this support and
solidarity will lower the cost of our ulti-
mate victory. The burden of conscience
lays heavily on all those who claim liberty
and freedom as values and are silent now,
when their voices are most needed.
4Should the White House change its
strategy on Iran?
$After 40 years of failed attempts
to appease this irreformable regime,
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Do not try to engage this regime. The
previous administration made this
mistake to disastrous effect for the
Iranian people and for the region.
Instead, engage the Iranian people and
the secular democratic opposition. For
example, use the frozen assets of this
regime and return them to their rightful
owners, the people. Use it to support
a strike fund to give my compatriots
the ability to go on mass strikes and
bring this regime to its knees through
widespread, peaceful civil disobedience.
The administration should also take
measures to promote and safeguard
uninterrupted access to the internet,
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its own propaganda while it asphyxiates
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administration on their approach?
$For all of these years, I have commu-
nicated the same, consistent message
to international leaders, including those
in the United States. That message has
been simple: You cannot properly devel-
op a policy for the future when you are
focused on dealing with this illegitimate
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demand for fundamental change and you
must engage the people. I will continue
to advocate this message. The problem is
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behavior, because it never will, but rather
that the world has not changed its behav-
) ior it looking to appease this regime.
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